Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Christian Singer’s Must-Read Warning About Love, Romance and Modern-Day Culture

"It's reshaping the way you look at things."
Share Tweet
By Billy Hallowell
Editor

February 14, 2017

As edgy, sex-themed feature film “Fifty Shades Darker” brings in scores of audience members — and as Valentine’s Day is upon us — a well-known Christian singer is warning about the ways in which modern-day culture is discussing and framing romance.

Joel Smallbone, 32, is part of the Grammy-winning musical duo For King & Country alongside his brother, Luke. The singer recently told The Christian Post that he sees a major problem with the version of sex and romance perpetuated in films like “Fifty Shades.”

READ: Actor Chris Pratt Reveals the ‘Great Bible Verse’ He Relies on for Strength

“(We’re) in a time, era and a culture that really focuses on the most unstable variation of love which is this emotionally charged, extravagant initial spark of love,” Smallbone said. “We have to counter that with the calmer, truer, deeper love which is the truest. It’s a decision and a sacrifice.”

In an effort to counter negative narratives, Smallbone and his team released the DVD version of “Priceless,” a feature film that focuses on a man who loses custody of his daughter and is unable to hold employment after the death of his wife. The main character — played by Smallbone — faces an ethical conundrum after agreeing to drive a truck across the country and subsequently discovering what’s inside. Joel and Luke Smallbone also published an associated novel titled, “Priceless: She’s Worth Fighting For,”

As for Joel Smallbone, he’s hoping the film will help tell a more positive story about love and relationships, worrying that much of what’s being perpetuated in media is changing behaviors and perceptions among the masses. He added that he’s not sure people have adequately been exploring whether certain media and entertainment narratives are healthy to be celebrated in the way they are.

“When you’re experiencing these intimate things, these ideologies, these films and this music, somehow in turn it’s reshaping the way you look at things. It’s reshaping the way you perceive yourself, the way I perceive women, (and) what I value in life,” Smallbone told The Christian Post. “My hope is that with films like ‘Priceless’ releasing on Valentine’s Day it’s pushing towards a really timeless message of extravagant chivalry in the face of trafficking and slavery while celebrating a woman’s worth.”

In the end, Smallbone called on men to look toward God and to take an honest look at their lives to be sure they’re living in a respectful manner, adding that love — like everything else that’s good in life — requires hard work and commitment.

“My charge to men who are reading is to find in yourself under God a way to raise up that side of you — that chivalrous side,” he said. “Be honest with yourself whether it’s pornography, whether it’s looking twice at another woman or whether it’s your thought life to really engage in the battle.”

As Deseret News reported last fall, the Smallbone brothers previously launched a movement called “Priceless” in an effort to push back against problematic cultural narratives. It was an undertaking they embarked on after spending time speaking at a Christian woman’s conference, realizing there’s a deeper need for a focus on love, relationships and self-respect.

Listen to Luke Smallbone discuss the “Priceless” movement on “The Church Boys” podcast below:

“We started talking about this priceless movement … (that) culture says for you to talk, dress and act like you’re cheap, but we believe that there’s a God who says you’re priceless,” Luke Smallbone told Deseret News at the time. “And then after the women’s conferences it kind of started to pick up some steam.”

So, the brothers decided to embark on the book and film projects and the rest is, well, history.

(H/T: Christian Post)

—

Other Must-Read Stories:

– Check Out the Christian Grammy Winners You Might Have Missed in the Media

– Country Singer Jamie Lynn Spears Shares Bible Verse After 8-Year-Old Daughter is Released from Hospital

– Pastor Claims His Sermons Cost Him His Job, but the Government Has a Totally Different Explanation

– Actor Chris Pratt Reveals the ‘Great Bible Verse’ He Relies on for Strength

Latest

  • News

    ‘We are Devastated but Not Defeated’: Massive 8-Alarm Fire Destroys Church in New Jersey, Cause of Fire Under Investigation

  • News

    Wild Footage Shows Brave Good Samaritan Purportedly Tackling, Thwarting Gun-Wielding Man Fleeing Police in Busy NYC Neighborhood

  • News

    ‘Word for Word’: Persecution Watchdog Warns of Striking Similarities Between Communist Persecution, ‘American Leftist Way of Restriction’

  • News

    Calgary Pastor Arrested for Second Time After Protesting Drag Show at Public Library

  • News

    ‘Gateways to the Demonic’: Pastor Breaks Down Possession, Spiritual Healing, and Biblical Truths About Devil’s Most Dangerous Tricks


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • ‘We are Devastated but Not Defeated’: Massive 8-Alarm Fire Destroys Church in New Jersey, Cause of Fire Under Investigation
  • Wild Footage Shows Brave Good Samaritan Purportedly Tackling, Thwarting Gun-Wielding Man Fleeing Police in Busy NYC Neighborhood
  • ‘Word for Word’: Persecution Watchdog Warns of Striking Similarities Between Communist Persecution, ‘American Leftist Way of Restriction’
  • Calgary Pastor Arrested for Second Time After Protesting Drag Show at Public Library
  • ‘Gateways to the Demonic’: Pastor Breaks Down Possession, Spiritual Healing, and Biblical Truths About Devil’s Most Dangerous Tricks

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?